Critical Care Nursing and Mass Casualty Response During Operation Allies Refuge

Operation Allies Refuge started in July 2021 with implications for critical care nurses, both military and civilian, serving at the US Army’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany. Cultural and logistical concerns and complications were at the forefront of care provided to Afghan evacuees during the operation and were exacerbated by a mass casualty event on August 26, 2021, when a suicide bomber attacked the Abbey Gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. This article discusses the issues that affected care, including language barriers, supply shortages, cultural differences, mass evacuation during a pandemic, and management of the mass casualty event by the critical care team. The information is compiled into a summary of lessons learned to assist in future management of emergency evacuee care within our military and civilian health care systems.